Managing the woodpiles

[logmusic]

I have a 10x12 shed with a metal roof and heavy duty lattice on the sides. This shed is facing southwest, and about 30 feet from the basement door. I pack that sucker tight and pull from it in reverse order. I load it one side at a time. I always bring an armload in when I walk past, and I manage to store a couple days worth in the basement. I bought a chainsaw buddy (highly recommended), and I only usually burn limb-wood cut with that from late Sept until the end of November, then I move to the chunkers. My house is so well insulated and my burning habits refined after all of these years, that it barely seems like work at all. ;-) I cut all my wood in the fall the year prior and in the spring of the burning year...off of the stump no later than April 30. I mainly have black cherry, red maple and some sugar maple. I do not waste my time on softwoods, but I have a ton of that too.

Good luck friend.

 

[jbrown56]

First of all, you will need to get this years burnable wood in one place. Then you can start a system that will put you two years ahead of what you have now. I have five pallets that are 5'w, 12l and when you stack 5'h you will have two cord per pallet. I stack three rows on each pallet with about four inches between the rows and the middle row seems to dry as well as the outside rows. My wood pallets range from 20' - 50' from the house where I have a small door to toss the wood into a bin on the lower level. Hope this helps.

Jim

 

[woodconvert]

"I am forever rearranging my woodpiles."

"So either I am too OCD about keeping my stacks in order (which is very likely) or am missing out on some simple principle not included in my “Woodburners 101” manual.
Which is it, do we think??"

Segregate to your liking when you stack it.....then don't touch it. I'm finicky about what wood is where in the stack based on the usual weather at the time I think i'll get to it. Example, I stack in 6ft tall by 16-18ft rows. The first two rows will be less harder woods, smaller splits. The next four rows will be the good stuff (oak mostly) split big. The next row will usually be oak but not as big of splits. The last row will be like the first two. Not as hard of wood and smaller splits. Other than covering it in the fall I don't do any more stack management (s.m.).

So, to answer your question, yes, I'm afraid you've got the worst case of OCD i've ever seen!! ;-P

 

[jadm]

Good to know other people have wood stacking systems too. My husband was giving me a hard time last weekend when he had to help load wood up from the bottom of our yard to the back of our garage where it is easier to get to. I usually do the job but have pulled a muscle in my lower abdomen and am not supposed to be bending and lifting.

We live in Colorado so only burn about 3 cords a season. I have mixed hard woods delivered in June and stack it all in the bottom of our yard and cover it with tarps to keep in dry - our sprinkler hits the piles...

I also have pine and use it to start our fires up. It is in it's own pile. A cord lasts a few seasons because I have the kids split each piece into several smaller pieces so it lasts longer.
It doesn't have to be as easy to get to so it ends up behind the hard woods.

This year I added red oak to my mix to see how it burns. It cost twice as much as my hard woods so I only got a cord and put it in front of one of my hw stacks so I could get to it.

I move wood from the bottom of our yard up to our garage about once every 5 to 6 weeks so it is only about 30 feet from the back door. Since I got oak this year I made another smaller stack on the side of our shed. I put it in a different place because I am using less of it so it will hopefully last all season and my kids can't tell one type of wood from the other. If I need their help I just point at a pile and they get what I want.

Sounds confusing and I am still working on streamlining. This is only my 3rd year burning so I'm always finding new ways of doing things more efficiently. Just seems like once I think I've got things sorted out something changes and I have to rethink my piles...Like this year the wood that got delivered was green. I was told it would be okay by winter in our climate and, silly me, I trusted him. Next summer I will know better. Anyway, now I have to play around with my existing piles to get drier wood from last year....I kinda like the challenge myself. Feels good to find a solution.

 

[downeast]

My Dear Mrs Monk in Ky:
The diagnosis is simple--you have a serious case of The Piles. While usually only the male of the species is afflicted, it can affect any sex.

Symptoms usually include the following:
1. Standing back and compulsively re-looking at what you have stacked, over and over.
2. Stepping out to drool at your wood piles at any hour, in any weather, wearing anything.
3. Often lurking when no one is looking to see how your stacks are "doing".
and of course--
4. Arranging and rearranging stacks according to species, shape, color, length, feelings according to secret rules of The Piles.

Do not under any circumstances pay attention to so-called foolproof "systems" described here. They are only in denial.
Not to worry Mrs. Monk, it will be terminated in Spring. You will long for Fall once again and enjoy.

The bill is in the mail.

 

[Cearbhaill]

Symptoms usually include the following:
1. Standing back and compulsively re-looking at what you have stacked, over and over.
2. Stepping out to drool at your wood piles at any hour, in any weather, wearing anything.
3. Often lurking when no one is looking to see how your stacks are "doing".
and of course--
4. Arranging and rearranging stacks according to species, shape, color, length, feelings according to secret rules of The Piles.

Do not under any circumstances pay attention to so-called foolproof "systems" described here. They are only in denial.

:lol:
Is there a twelve step program for this?
:lol:

 

[breamer999]

I'm in the same boat as Mrs Monk.

My somewhat neurotic system is as follows:

I have a woodshed that has a complete season dry and ready to go. Inside my log home I have two custom made wood racks that were welded with 1" tubular steel, by a local guy. They stand five feet tall, two feet deep and 18" wide, I have one on either side of the stove. One rack is softwood, other hardwood. Together they last me about two weeks. I gauge the weather to determine which pile I draw on. I burn three cords of softwood a year (deadfall black spruce from my four acres) and one cord of hardwood (nine cord bought five years ago). I have some piles outside covered with shingles and once in a while if a dry spell hits, I load one of the racks with it an draw from the dry seasoned stuff. Generally softwood from October 15th to Jan 15th, and hardwood from Jan15 to Mar15 and back to softwood until season ends, which can be end of May up here in Prince Edward Island

I also keep an *uglies* pile in one of my shed, I usually draw from that late in the season or when I am out having a single malt scotch and have a free hand